Chapter 54: Mr. Wu
The rain lashed the wild boar-skin door curtain, but inside the cave, the air was filled with the aroma of smoke and meat. Wu Yuetang's wrist ached from gripping the machete. As the blade rose and fell, another piece of fresh, boned meat fell into the clay pot. The procession snaked along, the villagers weary but silent, their voices only echoing from the occasional child swallowing.
When it came to Liuwan Village, the procession erupted in a commotion. Wang Xiaobin, dressed in a long, starched gown, was beside him, Zhao Linlin clinging to his arm. His mother's knuckles were white as she clutched the bamboo basket. Just as Wu Yuetang was about to divide the meat, a shrill laugh erupted from the crowd: "Isn't this Wang Tongsheng the old lover of the Wu family girl? Shouldn't he give her a few more pieces of meat?"
The sound of laughter was like salt sprinkled into a frying pan, which exploded instantly.
Wu Yuetang looked up and saw a couple standing at the end of the Liuwan Village group. Wu Yuetang frowned. They looked so unfamiliar that she didn't know them. A middle-aged man squeezed into the crowd, his rosacea flushed with excitement.
After these words were spoken, many villagers who had received their share of meat became dissatisfied. Even worse, the old woman who had just received the meat pointed at Wu Yuetang with a trembling hand and said, "Look! This girl usually pretends to be noble, but when it comes to distributing the meat, she's biased!"
"Shut up!" Wu Yuetang slammed the machete down on the chopping board. The splashing meat frightened the children in the front row so much that they took a half step back.
She looked around, her eyes swept across the gloating faces, and sneered: "Divide the meat by the head. Whoever takes an extra pound, I will chop off his hand." Before she finished speaking, Ye Jingchen was standing silently beside her, with the dart bag on his waist shining coldly.
The head of Liuwan Village squeezed into the crowd, his pipe banging against a nearby clay pot. "Don't you want to live anymore? The rain hasn't stopped yet. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be sent to the mountainside to feed the water ghosts!"
The scolding from the head of Liuwan Village calmed the situation. Several troublemakers shrank back into the crowd, muttering something. However, Wang Xiaobin remained silent with his eyes downcast, his pale lips pressed into a straight line.
Wu Yuetang threw two pieces of meat into the bamboo basket and glanced at Wang Xiaobin's clenched fist: "Take it."
She suddenly lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear, "If anyone brings up the past again, I don't mind letting everyone know what you did to me back then."
The bamboo basket swayed, and Wang Xiaobin looked up suddenly, only to see Wu Yuetang turning around and continuing to divide the meat. Thunder roared outside the cave, sending dust scattering from the rock walls, and the meat-dividing team finally returned to silence.
Dusk, wrapped in the damp aroma of meat, drifted into the cave. When the last piece of pickled meat was hung on the rock wall, Wu Yuetang finally straightened his aching back.
The bone soup boiling in the clay pot gurgled, mixed with the spicy aroma of pepper and star anise, diluting the sour smell of sweat from the crowded people in the cave.
She looked at the children gnawing on the bones, and suddenly thought of the groups of people on the mountainside - the caves they were living in at the moment were probably being eaten away by the rain.
Thunder exploded close to the cave ceiling, shaking the hanging bacon and making it appear as if it was shaky. Wu Yuetang sat down, leaning against the rock wall, listening to the torrential rain outside the cave like a galloping horse.
Ye Jingchen handed over the roasted meat skewers, sparks splashed on the overlapping shadows of the two people, and instantly went out on the wet ground.
"It's the sixth day." The young man looked at the taut boar skin curtain at the cave entrance. Water droplets flowed down the folds of the hide into small streams. "If anyone on the mountainside wants to come up..."
"We have to peel off the skin first." Wu Yuetang took a bite of the meat, and the fat slid down the corners of his mouth.
She recalled how Wang Xiaobin's mother had sneaked up to the cave entrance the day before, her cloudy eyes fixed on the gap in the door curtain.
"If you dare to touch this line of defense, I'll let them know that wild boar tusks are not just for hanging meat."
Outside the cave came the crisp sound of trees breaking, mixed with faint cries that seemed to come from far away.
Wu Yuetang stood up suddenly, only to see the old village chief tremblingly holding up the oil lamp: "It's in the direction of the mountainside." The flame flickered in the draft, making the faces of the people on the rock wall turn pale and blue.
She looked at Ye Jingchen. He had already clenched his hunting knife, and the blade shone coldly in the firelight - their Ye family was still on the mountainside.
The moment the thunder exploded, Wu Yuetang's grip on the rock wall suddenly tightened. The expected sound of a door pounding didn't break through the rain curtain. Instead, there was a continuous roar of trees snapping—torrential rain, accompanied by mountain torrents, poured down from the mountaintop, like a giant axe severing the mountain path in half.
The two men lifted the door curtain and stuck their heads out, only to see half-split fir trees lying all over the mountain path, sharp stones embedded in the rolled bark, and dead branches and leaves swirling in the stagnant water, completely blocking the way for the team on the mountainside to seek help.
"We have to go check it out." Wu Yuetang wiped the rain off her face and turned to look at Ye Jingchen. Wu Shoutian's rough hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder, while Li stood behind her, holding a torch. In the dim light, the two elders' bloodshot eyes were filled with worry.
But she gritted her teeth, put on her rain gear, and tied her rubber shoes into a knot. The rain outside the cave was like a beaded curtain, and the sound of their footsteps was quickly swallowed up by the rain.
The mountain path was more difficult than I had imagined. The water was up to my ankles, and the gravel hurt the soles of my rubber shoes.
They moved along the mountain wall, with loose rocks occasionally rolling down from above. After about half an incense stick of time, the outline of the cave gradually emerged before them.
The accumulated water has already overflowed the cave entrance to half a person's height, and the turbid water swirled into the cave. The winding water marks on the cave wall showed the height of the deepest part of the accumulated water.
"It's all your fault!" A sharp curse suddenly pierced the rain. Wu Yuetang leaned against the wall of the cave and looked down. The only remaining candlelight flickered inside, and a dark figure huddled at the highest point.
Aunt Sun huddled in a corner, her gray hair dripping with water. Chen Chunhe clutched a cracked oil-paper umbrella, her face bruised and blue. The man in the center of the crowd pointed a stick at them, "You said the mountainside was safe! Now we're up to our necks in water! If we stay here any longer, we'll all be fed to the fish!"
Amidst the constant curses, mixed with the crying of children and the suppressed sobs of women, the heavy rain outside the cave seemed to be the accompaniment of this farce.
Ye Jingchen stood in front of Wu Yuetang, his dart bag swaying slightly with his movements. Just then, a teeth-grinding "crack" sound came from outside the cave—the soil on the entire rock wall began to peel away, and muddy mud wrapped around rocks poured down, instantly blocking half of the cave entrance. Desperate cries erupted from the crowd, and some even collapsed to the ground, desperately slapping at the accumulated water.
She looked at Ye Jingchen, and the flickering flames in his eyes resonated with her thoughts - this rainstorm was likely to wash away the most hideous side of human nature.
The rain curtain hit the protruding rocks on the cave wall at an angle, and the system prompt sounded again in my ears - within the seven days of heavy rain, you can get two mysterious points for each villager you rescue.
She lowered her eyes to gaze at the cave entrance. Muddy water seeped into the cave through the cracks in the rocks. Over a hundred figures huddled in the shadows flickered in the candlelight. If she could get all of them out of danger, she would earn an extra 200 points.
This rainstorm came suddenly and landslides could happen at any time. Rescuing people rashly would undoubtedly put oneself in danger.
"Let's fight this time." She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms. "Let's treat this as the last time I'll be this 'good person'—I'll take those who are willing to follow me out, and those who are stubborn will just have to leave it to fate."
There was a sound of fabric rubbing behind her, and Ye Jingchen's shadow loomed over her shoulders. His dark pupils reflected the chaotic scene in the cave, and his Adam's apple rolled twice, but he didn't say a word.
When Wu Yuetang turned her head, she happened to catch the fleeting complex emotions in his eyes - the entanglement and desire hidden in the darkness was very similar to the complex expression he had when he was standing at the door of the restaurant, at a loss.
"You want to save the Ye family?" She lowered her voice, "Don't worry, as long as they are obedient and don't cause trouble, I will help you rescue them even if they only have one breath left."
Before he finished speaking, the sound of clubs beating each other suddenly came from the cave, and Aunt Sun's crying pierced the noise: "I already said I don't know where the exit is! Don't force me—"
Wu Yuetang tugged at the corner of Ye Jingchen's clothes, her eyes sharp: "Remember, saving your life is the most important thing. Listen to my instructions later and take the women and children out first." The rain dripped down her hair to her neck, mixed with the cold sweat oozing from her palms. Amid the roar of the rainstorm, Wu Yuetang was the first to step into the cave.
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